Review Statistics

Average Rating

3.1
3.1
Total 7 Reviews

Rating Breakdown

7 Reviews
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
3
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
1
Recommended Courses
5
Not Recommended Courses
2
Helpful Votes Count
0
Not Helpful Votes Count
3
First Review
07/01/2018
Last Review
12/15/2020

Reviews Map

Reviews

3.1
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Course Difficulty
First time playing this course
Recommended
Review has
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Walked

Fast greens = slow round

I was able to get out on a perfect day. The over seed came in very well. The course was in perfect shape with perhaps the fairways still a touch shaggy but that is to be expected for the tail end of over seed.

The course is walkable with nice transitions from tees to fairways (with the odd exception of 18). There are a couple of long walks from green to tee on both the front 9 and back 9 (same stretch coming and going).

The challenge for Ambiente is they need to slow the greens down. While every course wants to be known for having "fast greens", it kills pace of play as evidenced by my round of 4:25 and watching how long other groups were on the greens.

The greens are already very firm. They have plenty of undulation. There is abundant bunkering.

These three factors should tell one that they don't need super quick greens. The challenge is already there.

If the greens were more receptive and had less undulation I could understand the fast greens, but this trio works against the player and slows down pace of play - all the time is spent on the greens.

Slow the greens, soften the greens. Players will shoot better scores, have more fun, and pace of play will improve. They will more likely want to come back as well..

Bottomline: I'm not so sure I'm willing to go back despite the otherwise excellent course conditions.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

Theodore Wirth Golf Course

Played On 09/03/2018
1.0
Previously Played

Pace of Play Still a Problem

I had not played the course in five years because of course conditions and pace of play issues but I wanted to check out the renovated course. Big mistake.

How the course is set up and managed ensures a long slog around the course. The slowest round of golf I have played in years.

As it stands now, it's simply not a course I can come back to because of the pace of play.

My playing partner and I teed off 20 minutes late for a mid-morning tee time (starter was doing other things) and it took 4:20 to play just 15 holes. We skipped a par 5 and a par 4 on the front and a par 5 on the back because of slow play.

There was a 1.5 hole gap on the front but with no ranger, the entire front nine was at a near standstill. I'll also note no beverage cart on a holiday with a pretty full tee sheet?

In addition, there are a lot of casual and beginner golfers at this course which is great. Wirth needs to make this game a little more enjoyable by cutting down the rough, which was way too thick, and widening fairways on most holes.

The pace of play would pick up, people would shoot better scores and have more fun, leading to repeat business. (Know your customer).

The course was in good shape, the rough aside, and the greens were quite good but a bit slow.

The renovated bunkers were nicely done and offers character back to when the course was initially built.

The new par 3 12th is short but good although another bunker behind the green should have been built. Players tip: don't go long and play the yardage as is despite it being an uphill shot. Long is dead.

The par 4 18th is a very nice finishing hole with a shot at birdie if you can hit the fairway. The fairway is wider than it appears from the tee box.

But in the end, the good finishing hole ends up being meaningless if one has had to suffer five hours just to get there. Management needs to fix the pace of play or players are ultimately going to gravitate to other courses.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average

Keller Golf Course

Played On 08/19/2018
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Walked

Real Good Except...

Played it for the first time. Really good course in excellent shape and our pace of play was very good as well. The range was acceptable but fairly beat up.

Keller's layout is very good except for two holes, the par three 4th and a par 4 on the back, either 16 or 17.

On both holes there's a large tree in front of the green. These trees might be viewed as course "signatures" but they are terrible from a golf design standpoint and detract from the otherwise solid layout. I suspect the architect of the remodel was told these two trees needed to stay which is unfortunate.

We didn't think the beverage cart was running on our day, only to finally see it from 400 yards away while we were on the 16th hole. Then, in a true Seinfeld moment, the beverage vending machine would not accept a $5 bill. Comical as it kept spitting it back out.

It would also have been helpful to have a ranger on the course as the group behind us hit into us four times throughout the round.

Cut the two trees down, use a ranger, and improve the beverage service and this will be a top notch golf experience. The par 4 18th is a nice finishing hole as you play towards the classic-looking clubhouse.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Used cart

Northwoods Gem

This might be the most under-appreciated course in the state. Great layout with woods, rolling fairways and ponds. The course was in excellent condition and the staff friendly.

Adding a second course would make it a destination but I don't know if that's viable or not.

However, pace of play was terrible on my back 9 due to a couple of groups that bogged things down.

To remedy this I suggested to the staff that they make the Yellow Tees the White Tees and make the White Tees another color like Orange.

Reason being is that the vast majority of male golfers will gravitate to the Whites but they are a bit too long here at almost 6,400 yards for most golfers.

The current Yellow tees at 5,900 yards and slope 126 is still a very fair test for most golfers.

As a result, the slow golfers were holding up everyone else partially because they were playing the White Tees when they should have been playing the Yellows but the stigma of Yellow tees being "Senior" tees inevitably pushes people to the Whites.

By making the Yellow Tees White the course is going to naturally get most players playing up a tee which is appropriate at this course. They will then most likely shoot better scores, have more fun, and play faster.

The course wins under this scenario and players are more likely to return because they had more fun and shot a better score.

I should also note that this course has a very nice area to hold outdoor weddings.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good

Royal Golf Club

Played On 08/07/2018
3.0
First Time Playing
Used cart

Not Quite Ready...

Those who play the course regularly and learn it over time will probably like it.

Those, like myself, who will only play it once a year or so based on the course's location are going to be disappointed.

For a new upscale course I was surprised that the carts did not have GPS and there is very little information on the course to help players. (Being a new track I knew my personal GPS wasn't going to have the course yet).

The course has no pictures or information of the green complexes, there are very few sprinkler heads with yardages on them and there is a small 150 stake denoting if the pin is in the front, middle, or back.

But that isn't a lot of help if you don't know what the greens look like or you can't see them due to an elevation change.

There are also too many greens that are tricked up with unneeded undulations. Carnival-like.

So if you're new to this course it's going to be a round where you guess a lot on club selection and if you're wrong you'll have those greens to contend with.

The course was in good condition and the layout is pretty good, but the course needs GPS on the carts to make it more player-friendly. Just adding pin sheets would be helpful since it's a new course.

As a result, the course isn't quite ready for prime-time until the course provides more player information.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

The Summit Golf Club

Played On 07/01/2018
I Recommend This Course
3.0
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Enjoyable course but two suggestions

Drove down from the Twin Cities to play The Summit for the first time. It had been on my radar for a few years. An easy drive.

Range was basic but adequate. Putting green was in good shape but a little too slanted. No starter.

There are a couple of gimmicky holes on the back (15 & 17) but in fairness this is a course you need to play a few times to get comfortable. Many times hitting driver is not the club off the tee.

The course was in good shape, the greens receptive and smooth, the rough cut an appropriate height. A pure golf experience. There was no beverage cart or drinking water on the course so bring your own.

This is a course I'd return to and play once or twice a year as I enjoyed it, but I'll offer two suggestions:

On a summer weekend a ranger is a must. Halfway thru the back nine things came to a grinding halt with a threesome that knowingly played slow and didn't care.

A ranger is needed to push them along as every hole was backed up. Not acceptable as our round took 4:45 and we could've played in 3:45 if not for the group ahead of us.

Also, to help with pace of play I would make the following change: change the gold tees to white and make the current white tees another color like green.

Unfortunately, the reality is that almost every average male golfer is going to play the whites because the gold tees are viewed as "senior" tees.

As a result a player in our group played from the whites and he had no business playing from there; he shot 100+. (We played the gold tees ourselves noting the 131 slope).

Same with the group ahead of us that was slowing everyone down - they should not have playing a slope 135, 6,400 yard course from the whites.

Make the gold tees white and these same players are now moving up a tee and most won't know the difference.

These players will have more fun, score better, play faster, and will likely return to the course because they had a good time.

Players tip: if no forced carry and you're debating between two clubs, take the lessor club. Short was better than long in these situations, i.e. not running thru the fairway into woods, bunkers, etc.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging

Bluff Creek Golf Course

Played On 06/17/2018
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Hot weather
Walked

Excellent condition, but change tees

I hadn't played the course in five years and the course was in the best shape I've ever seen it in. Rough was appropriately cut, greens were very good. Fairways were a bit slow but only due to recent rains.

Here's my recommendation that would benefit the course and players: make the Gold tees the White tees and make the current White tees another color like Green.

The reason being is that most golfers should not be playing the Whites which is 6,400 yards (and has six par 4s 380 yards or longer plus elevation) but most players unfortunately gravitate to the White tees because Gold tees are seen as the "senior" tees even though the Gold currently plays over 6,000 yards.

Making the Whites play from the Gold yardage of 6,065 will result in lower scores, more fun, and a faster pace of play. And I suspect most players won't even notice the change.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Now Reading